Electric hand-lantern.



C. F. BURGESS.

ELECTRIC HAND LANTERN.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 30. m5.

1,163,887, u Patented Dec.14,1915.

F z I I 40 X19 7 \mmwmw' /2 {it I INVENTOR Charles EBt/rgais H 1 ATTORNEYS CHARLES E. BIlRGESS, 0F MADISON,

SCONSiN, ASSIG'NOR TO 0. F. BURGESS I LABORATORIES, 0F MADISON, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

E ECTRIC HAND-LANTERN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14:, 1915.

Application filed March 30, 1915. Serial- No. 17,983.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. BURonss, a citizen of the United States, residing in Madison, county of Dane, State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Hand-Lanterns; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to battery apparatus and more particularly to portable battery lights.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means for protecting the lampfilament from the high initial voltage of a dry battery, while permitting said lamp to operate at full battery voltage after the battery has been in use long enough to settleidown to its normal or average voltage.

It is a further object of the invention to so arrange the several parts of the lantern that a wide and effective hand grip is afforded, whereby the lantern may be carried in the hand. a

It is also an object to so arrange the hand grip on its supports, and to so dispose the lamp, the switch and the resistance, with respect to said hand grip, that the structure as a whole is pleasing in appearance, convenient in use, and rugged and serviceable in its details.

For a better understanding of the invention in its several aspects, reference is made to the following description, which is to be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a complete electric hand lantern; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the hand grip; Fig.

3 is an end elevation of the contact device with its associated resistance; Fig. 4 is a section through the resistance on the line 44.- of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the invention as applied to two dry cells connected in series and strapped togather.

In the drawing, the battery lmay be an ordinary dry cell of suitable size, say six inches high and provided at its center with the usual terminal 2 for the carbon electrode. and near its outer edge with the usual terminal 3 for the zinc electrode.

Secured to terminal 3 is an L-shaped metal support 4 having a large round hole near its upper end, and secured to terminal 2 is an outwardly and upwardly curved metal support 5 having a hole through its upper end and having an off-set portion or tongue 6 pressed therein to serve as a lock for the hand grip, as hereinafter explained.

The hand grip for the lantern comprises a metal portion 7 in the form of a tube screw-threaded at its front and rear ends.

Into this is threaded the front end of a 1 and forcing off-set 6 into a notch of tube 7 to lock the grip against rotation. A reflector 11 may be secured to collar 10, as by swaging down a lip 12 thereon. An incandenscent lamp'13, having the usual low voltage filament, as of tungsten, is threaded into collar 10 and projects through bevond support 5 and well into the front end of the hand grip. so that its inner terminal may contact with one end of a leaf spring 14, the other end of which is clamped against the frontof the wooden tube 8 under the head of a conductive rod 15, which extends backward through the hand grip and projects substantially bevond support 4:.

Mounted on the projecting portion of rod or conductor 15 is a spool 16 of insulating material about which is wound a resistance 17, preferably in the form, of awire. having one end extending down through the hole in the spool into contact with rod 15, and having its other end 18 extending outward into contact with a m talbox 19 wherein said spool is housed. This metal box is insulated from rod 15 by the s ool and is held in position by an insulating washer 2C) and by the nut 21 screw-threaded to the is swung upward into the position shown in Fig. 3. its step 23 will contact with the metal box 19, and so will establish the flow of current from the battery through the lamp and resistance 17, and-thevoltage impressed on the lamp will be somewhat less than the full voltage ofthe battery. lit the battery consists of a single cell, as shown in Fig. l. the winding 17 may have a resistance of half an ohm, or less, but if two cells are used, as shown in Fig. 5, in series,

the winding may have a resistance of one ohm orless.

A new dry cell may have a voltage of 1.6, whereas, its normal or steady running voltage. after the first few hburs, is in the neighborhood of 1.3, and in using such a battery for operating a low voltage lamp, either the lamp must be over-loaded while the battery is new, or it will not be operating at good eiiiciencywhen the battery settles down to its normal voltage.

lit has been the practice of lamp makers to rate their miniature or low voltage lamps, particularly tungsten lamps, as high as they could well stand,and battery makers, in

7 order to get a brilliant light through the normal life of the batteries, have, as a gener'alrule, selected for use with their batteries, lamps with ratings corresponding to the normal or average voltage of the battery,

thereby disregarding the excess voltage ofvolts, or thereabout, to whichthe lamp is subjected before the battery settles down to its real running voltage. The result has been a short-life for the lamps, for if they survived the initial severe over-load, they were so impaired thereby that they would not last out their normal life on their normal voltage, and even if they did remain operative, they would be so blackened and otherwise impaired by the initial over-load,

I 4 that they would give much less light than a;

the beginning. The practical result is that acustomer can buy a hand lantern giving an extremely brilliant light. but after a few hours, the light will drop off very greatly in brilliancy, partly through the fall in battery voltage, as the battery settles down to its "normal conditions, and partly due to im pairment ofv the lamp because of theabnormal strains on it. The result is much dissatisfaction.

By the present invention, it is possibleto use a miniature lamp, say a tungsten lamp,

with a rating comparable to the steady running voltage of a dry cell, and by the introduction of a resistance when the battery is new, protect the lamp from abuse and save it for a long life on the battery, after the latter has become steady and dropped to such a voltage that the resistance is no longer needed.

\Vhen the should be-in its first position to protect the battery is new, the switch lamp, and later, after the battery has aged, it can be thrown to its final position, thereby keeping up the efi'ectiveness of the light and greatly prolonging its life.

lln the embodiment shown in Fig; 5, two dry cells are fastened together by a web strap 25, and are electrically connected by a strip 26 wound with insulating material, except at its ends, and these are received under the terminals of adjacentcells. ln this embodiment the wood portion of the hand grip of a metal box mounted thereon, an insulating spool within said box, and a resistance element on said spool having one end in con-.

tact with said rod and the other end in contact with said box.

3: The combination with a conductive rod, of a metal box mounted on saidrod and insulated therefrom, an insulating spool within said box, a resistance winding on said spool having one end in contact with said rod and the other end in contact with said box, and a pivoted contact arm adapted to make contact with said box to permit current to flow from said rod through said resistance.

4. The combination with a'conductive rod, the end of which is adapted to serve as a contact member, an insulating spool on said rod, a-"resistance winding on said spool having one end in contact with said rod, and a.

pivoted contact arm movable first into electrical connection with the other end of said resistance winding, and then into contact with the end of said rod to short-circuit said winding; substantially as described.

5. The combination with a conductive rod, a metal box mounted on said rod, an insulating spool within said box, a resistance winding on said spool having one end in contact with said-rod and the other end in-contact with said box, a nut on the end of said red. an insulating washer between said nut and said box, and a pivoted contact arm movable first into contact with said 1 box to establish electrical connection to said rod through said resistance, said contact arm I being thereafter movable into contact with the end of said rod to short-circuit said resistance; substantially as described.

6. The combination with a conductive rod, of a support therefor, a metal box mounted on said rod and insulated therefrom, an m- I sulating spool Within said box, a resistance winding on said spool having one end in contact with said rod and the other end in contact with said box, and a contact arm pivoted to said support and adapted to make contact with said box to permit current to flow from said rod through said resistance to said support.

7. The combination with a lantern handle of insulating material, of a metal conductor extending therethrough, a metal support for said handle, an electrical resistance supported by said metal conductor and having one end contacting therewith, and means for establishing connection between the other end of said resistance and said metal support. 1

8. The combination with a lantern handle of a conductor extending therethrough, a support for said handle, an insulating spool carried on said conductor, a resistance winding onsaid spool having one end contacting with said conductor, and means for electrically connecting said handle support first with the other end of said resistance winding, and then with the end of said first named conductor.

9. The combination with a lantern handle of a rod extending therethrough', a support for said handle, a metal box mounted on said rod and insulated therefrom, an insulating spool within said box, a resistance winding on said spool having one end in contact with said rod and the other end in contact with said box, and a contact arm pivoted to said support and adapted to contact first with said box so that current may flow through said resistance, and then with-said rod so that the resistance may be shortcircuited. 4

10. In an electric handlantern, the combination of a hand grip, whereby said lantern may be carried, a battery, supports for said hand grip electrically connected with the terminals of said battery, a conductive rod extending through said hand grip, a metal box on said rod, an insulating spool within said box, a resistance about said spool and having one end in contact with said rod and theother end in contact with said box, 1

and a stepped contact arm pivoted to one of said supports and movable into contact with,

said box to establish electrical connection between said support and said rod through said resistance, said contact arm being movable farther into contact with the end of said rod to short-circuit said, resistance.

11. In an electric hand lantern, the combination of a dry battery, conductive supports connectedwith the ter 'nals of said battery, a hand grip connected between the tops of said supports and by which the lantern may be carried in the hand, said hand grip having a 'recess in one .end, a lamp threaded intosaid recess, a switch at the 7 bination'fibf a battery, conductive supports connected with the terminals of said battery, a hand grip between the tops of said supports and having a recess in its front end, a collar threaded into ,said recess and carrying a reflector, an incandescent lamp threaded into said collar, a conductor extending from the inner terminal of said lamp through said hand grip, and a contact member pivoted to one of said supports and movable into contact with said conductor to supply current from said battery to said lamp.

13. In an electric hand lantern, the combination of a dry battery, conductive supports connected to the terminals thereof, a hand grip between the'top ends of said supports, said grip comprising a metal tube with a wooden member fitted therein, means for supporting an electric lamp in the front end of said hand grip, a conductor connected with the inner terminal of said lamp and eX- tending through said wooden member, and a switch pivoted to one of said supports and movable into contact with the end of said conductor to permit current from said battery to flow through said lamp.

14. In an electric'hand lantern, the combination of a battery, conductive supports connected with the terminals of said battery,

a hand grip between the topends of said supports, whereby said lantern may be carried in the hand, said grip comprising at its front end a metal tube screw-threaded on the inside,-a collar threaded into said tube and securing that end of the hand grip to the adjacent support, a reflector supported by said collar, a lamp threaded into said collar, a'conductor connected with the inner terminal of said lamp and extending through said grip, and means for establishing connection between said conductor and the other support; substantially as described. v

15. In an electric hand lantern, the com- ,bination of a battery, conductive supports connected with the terminals thereof, a hand grip connecting the tops of said supports, whereby-said lantern may be carried, said 'grip comprising a metal tube with a wooden member fitting therein, one of said supports having an off-set portion to prevent said grip from turning in the hand, a lamp se cured to the front end of said grip and switch mechanism at the rear end thereof.

16. In'hn electric hand lantern, the combination of a dry battery; conductive supports connected with the terminals of said battery and spaced apart at their upper ends far enough to receive a hand grip, whereby said lantern may be carried, a hand grip between said supports consisting in part of wood and in art of metal, a collarthreaded into said metal part and securing the front end of said g to the adiacent conductive support, a reflector carried bv said collar, a lamp threaded into sa d collar and having its inner terminal within said hand grip, a conductive rod'conne'cted with said inner term nal and extendin through the wood portion of said hand grip and a contact device pivoted to one of said su ports and movab e into connection with the other end of said rod.

17. The combination with a dry battery,

of conductive supports connected with the terminals thereof. a hand grip between the upper ends of said supports. a lamp threaded into the front end of said hand grip and having its outer terminal permanently connected with the adiacent support, a conductor-contacting with the inner term nal of said lamp and extending through said hand grip and be ond the other sup ort, a resistance winding about the projecting end of said conductor and having one end in com-- tact therewith, a contact member ivoted to the other support and movable first into effective connection with one end of said resistance to establish a flow of current from said battery through said lamp at less than n the full battery voltage, said contact memher being movable farther into direct contact with the end of said conductor to impress the full battery voltage on said lamp; substantially as described.

18. lln an electric hand l'..utern, the com- I meager bination of a dry cell, conductive supports connected. with the terminals thereof and in the hand, said hand grip having a tubular metal portion with a wooden portion fitted thereto, a collar passing through one of said conductive supports and threaded into the tubular metal portion of said grip to secure said grip in position and establish connection with the adjacent conductive support, a reflector carried bv said collar, a lamp threaded into said collar and projecting into the front end of said hand grip, a conductive rod in effective contact with the inner terminal of said lamp and extending through the wooden portion of said hand grip and projecting beyond the other conductive support, a metal box on the projecting end of said rod, an insulating spool Within said box, a resistance winding on said' spool having one terminal in contact with said rod and the other terminal in contact with said box, and a stepped contact arm pivoted to one of said supports and mova e first into contact with said metal box to establish connection from said battery to said lamp through said resistance to apply less than full battery voltage on the lamp, said contact arm being movable farther into direct contact with the end of said rod to short-circuit said resistance and apply substantially full battery voltage to saidlamp.

Intestimony whereof I afiix my signature.

. J A CHARLES F. BURGESS. 

